Six More Deaths Linked to Grim Sleeper Serial Killer
The total number of deaths linked to Lonnie Franklin Jr. is now 16.
Oct. 29, 2011 — -- Police have linked Lonnie Franklin Jr., the man charged with 10 murders in the "Grim Sleeper" serial killings, to several other deaths, according an Associated Press source.
The source did not specify how many deaths police had connected to Franklin, but the Los Angeles Times reported the number as six.
The new victims were linked to the Grim Sleeper through DNA evidence, ballistics and a 911 voice recording of the accused serial killer, the reports said. In two of the cases, ballistic evidence showed that the bullets used to kill the women were fired from a gun Franklin is accused of using in other killings, according to the Times.
Photographs of six missing women have been posted on the LAPD website. Their ages today, if they are alive, range from 24 to 61 years old.
There is also a poster seeking information on Inez Warren, a murder victim whose body was discovered on Aug. 15, 1988. The poster asks anyone with information about the woman to contact the Grim Sleeper Task Force.
The LAPD did not respond to requests for comment from ABC News.
Franklin, a 57-year-old mechanic, was charged with 10 counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in July 2010 for the infamous "Grim Sleeper" slayings in Los Angeles. He is accused of murdering 10 young women between 1985 and 2007 in South Los Angeles.
When detectives searched Franklin's home and surrounding property, they allegedly found more than 1,000 photos and hundreds of hours of home video footage in his procession.
Franklin pleaded not guilty to the charges on Aug. 23, 2010, during a court appearance. He remains in custody.
Determining the identity of the "Grim Sleeper," who had eluded police for more than two decades, was helped by a DNA sample taken from the suspect's son.
A technique called familial DNA led police to Franklin in July 2010.
The police will not immediately seek additional charges for the six new victims so as not to complicate the current case against Franklin, according to the Times.
ABC News' Lauren Effron, Lauren Sher and Neal Karlinsky contributed to this report.
